2 January

Events

Pre-1600

* 69 – The Roman legions in Germania Superior refuse to swear loyalty to Galba. They rebel and proclaim Vitellius as emperor.
* 366 – The Alemanni cross the frozen Rhine in large numbers, invading the Roman Empire.
* 533 – Mercurius becomes Pope John II, the first pope to adopt a new name upon elevation to the papacy.
*1492 – Reconquista: The Emirate of Granada, the last Moorish stronghold in Spain, surrenders.

1601–1900

*1680 – Trunajaya rebellion: Amangkurat II of Mataram and his bodyguards execute the rebel leader Trunajaya.
*1776 – Empress Maria Theresa of Austria amends the Constitutio Criminalis Theresiana to include the abolition of torture throughout the Habsburg-ruled countries of Austria and Bohemia.
*1777 – American Revolutionary War: American forces under the command of General George Washington repulse a British attack led by General Charles Cornwallis at the Battle of the Assunpink Creek near Trenton, New Jersey.
*1788 – Georgia becomes the fourth state to ratify the United States Constitution.
*1791 – Northwest Indian War: The Big Bottom massacre is committed by Lenape and Wyandot warriors in the Ohio Country, North America.
*1818 – The British Institution of Civil Engineers is founded by a group of six engineers; Thomas Telford would later become its first president.
*1863 – American Civil War: The three-day Battle of Stones River ends in a Union victory when the Confederate Army of Tennessee under General Braxton Bragg are repulsed for the final time by the Army of the Cumberland under General William S. Rosecrans.
*1865 – Uruguayan War: The Siege of Paysandú ends as the Brazilians and Coloradans capture Paysandú, Uruguay.
*1900 – American statesman and diplomat John Hay announces the Open Door Policy to promote trade with China.
*1900 – Chicago Canal opens.

1901–present

*1920 – The second Palmer Raid, ordered by the US Department of Justice, results in 6,000 suspected communists and anarchists being arrested and held without trial.
*1921 – World premiere of the science fiction play '' R.U.R.'' by the Czech writer Karel Čapek in a theater in Hradec Králové.Jarka M. Burien, "Čapek, Karel" in Gabrielle H. Cody, Evert Sprinchorn (eds.) ''The Columbia Encyclopedia of Modern Drama'', Volume One. Columbia University Press, 2007. , (pp. 224–225).
*1941 – World War II: The Cardiff Blitz severely damages the cathedral in Cardiff, Wales.
*1942 – The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) obtains the conviction of 33 members of a German spy ring headed by Fritz Joubert Duquesne in the largest espionage case in United States history; Also known as the Duquesne Spy Ring.
* 1942 – World War II: Manila is captured by Japanese forces, enabling them to control the Philippines.
*1949 – Luis Muñoz Marín is inaugurated as the first democratically elected Governor of Puerto Rico.
*1954 – India establishes its highest civilian awards, the Bharat Ratna and the Padma Vibhushan.
*1955 – Following the assassination of the Panamanian president José Antonio Remón Cantera, his deputy, José Ramón Guizado, takes power, but is quickly deposed after his involvement in Cantera's death is discovered.
*1959 – ''Luna 1'', the first spacecraft to reach the vicinity of the Moon and to orbit the Sun, is launched by the Soviet Union.
*1963 – Vietnam War: The Viet Cong wins its first major victory, at the Battle of Ap Bac.
*1967 – Ronald Reagan, past movie actor and future President of the United States, is sworn in as Governor of California.
*1971 – The second Ibrox disaster kills 66 fans at a Rangers-Celtic association football match.
*1974 – United States President Richard Nixon signs a bill lowering the maximum U.S. speed limit to 55 mph in order to conserve gasoline during an OPEC embargo.
*1975 – At the opening of a new railway line, a bomb blast at Samastipur, Bihar, India, fatally wounds Lalit Narayan Mishra, Minister of Railways.
* 1975 – The Federal Rules of Evidence are approved by the United States Congress.
*1976 – The Gale of January 1976 begins, resulting in coastal flooding around the southern North Sea coasts, affecting countries from Ireland to Yugoslavia and causing at least 82 deaths and US$1.3 billion in damage.
*1978 – On the orders of the President of Pakistan, Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq, paramilitary forces opened fire on peaceful protesting workers in Multan, Pakistan; it is known as 1978 massacre at Multan Colony Textile Mills.
*1981 – One of the largest investigations by a British police force ends when serial killer Peter Sutcliffe, the "Yorkshire Ripper", is arrested in Sheffield, South Yorkshire.
*1988 – Condor Flugdienst Flight 3782 crashes near Seferihisar, Turkey, killing 16 people.
*1991 – Sharon Pratt Dixon becomes the first African American woman mayor of a major city and first woman Mayor of the District of Columbia.
*1993 – Sri Lankan Civil War: The Sri Lanka Navy kill 35–100 civilians on the Jaffna Lagoon.
*2004 – '' Stardust'' successfully flies past Comet Wild 2, collecting samples that are returned to Earth.
*2022 – Massive nationwide protests and unrest break out in Kazakhstan over the sudden increase of liquefied petroleum gas prices, leading to 238 people dead and thousands injured by January 11.
*2024 – Two aircraft collide on a runway at Haneda Airport in Tokyo, killing 5 and injuring 18.

Births

Pre-1600

* 869 – Yōzei, Japanese emperor (died 949)
* 1462 – Piero di Cosimo, Italian painter (died 1522)
*1509 – Henry of Stolberg, German nobleman (died 1572)

1601–1900

*1642 – Mehmed IV, Ottoman sultan (died 1693)
*1647 – Nathaniel Bacon, English-American rebel leader (died 1676)
* 1699 – Osman III, Ottoman sultan (died 1757)
*1713 – Marie Dumesnil, French actress (died 1803)
*1727 – James Wolfe, English general (died 1759)
* 1732 – František Brixi, Czech organist and composer (died 1771)
*1777 – Christian Daniel Rauch, German sculptor and educator (died 1857)
*1803 – Guglielmo Libri Carucci dalla Sommaja, Italian mathematician and academic (died 1869)
*1822 – Rudolf Clausius, Polish-German physicist and mathematician (died 1888)
*1827 – Pyotr Semyonov-Tyan-Shansky, Russian geographer and statistician (died 1914)
*1833 – Frederick A. Johnson, American banker and politician (died 1893)
*1836 – Mendele Mocher Sforim, Russian author (died 1917)
* 1836 – Queen Emma of Hawaii (died 1885)
*1837 – Mily Balakirev, Russian pianist and composer (died 1910)
*1857 – M. Carey Thomas, American educator and activist (died 1935)
*1860 – Dugald Campbell Patterson, Canadian engineer (died 1931)
* 1860 – William Corless Mills, American historian and curator (died 1928)
*1866 – Gilbert Murray, Australian-English playwright and scholar (died 1957)
*1870 – Ernst Barlach, German sculptor and playwright (died 1938)
* 1870 – Tex Rickard, American boxing promoter and businessman (died 1929)
*1873 – Antonie Pannekoek, Dutch astronomer and theorist (died 1960)
* 1873 – Thérèse of Lisieux, French nun and saint (died 1897)
*1878 – Jaakko Mäki, Finnish politician (died 1938)
* 1878 – Mannathu Padmanabha Pillai, Indian activist, founded the Nair Service Society (died 1970)
*1884 – Ben-Zion Dinur, Russian-Israeli historian and politician, 4th Israeli Minister of Education (died 1973)
* 1885 – Gordon Flowerdew, Canadian lieutenant, Victoria Cross recipient (died 1918)
*1886 – Apsley Cherry-Garrard, English explorer and author (died 1959)
*1889 – Bertram Stevens, Australian accountant and politician, 25th Premier of New South Wales (died 1973)
*1891 – Giovanni Michelucci, Italian architect and urban planner, designed the Firenze Santa Maria Novella railway station (died 1990)
*1892 – Seiichiro Kashio, Japanese tennis player (died 1962)
*1895 – Folke Bernadotte, Swedish diplomat (died 1948)
*1896 – Dziga Vertov, Polish-Russian director and screenwriter (died 1954)
* 1896 – Lawrence Wackett, Australian commander and engineer (died 1982)
*1897 – Theodore Plucknett, English legal historian (died 1965)
*1900 – Una Ledingham, British physician, known for research on diabetes in pregnancy (died 1965)

1901–present

*1901 – Bob Marshall, American activist, co-founded The Wilderness Society (died 1939)
*1902 – Dan Keating, Irish Republican Army volunteer (died 2007)
*1903 – Kane Tanaka, Japanese Supercentenarian, Oldest Japanese person ever, Second oldest verified person in world history (died 2022)
*1904 – Walter Heitler, German physicist and chemist (died 1981)
*1905 – Michael Tippett, English composer and conductor (died 1998)
* 1905 – Luigi Zampa, Italian director and screenwriter (died 1991)
* 1909 – Riccardo Cassin, Italian mountaineer and author (died 2009)
* 1909 – Barry Goldwater, American politician, businessman, and author (died 1998)
*1913 – Juanita Jackson Mitchell, American lawyer and activist (died 1992)
* 1913 – Anna Lee, English-American actress (died 2004)
*1917 – Vera Zorina, German-Norwegian actress and dancer (died 2003)
*1918 – Willi Graf, German physician and activist (died 1943)
*1919 – Ernest Bender, American Indologist (died 1996)
* 1919 – Beatrice Hicks, American engineer (died 1979)
*1920 (probable) – Isaac Asimov, American writer and professor of biochemistry (died 1992)
* 1920 – Bob Feerick, American basketball player and coach (died 1976)
*1921 – Glen Harmon, Canadian ice hockey player (died 2007)
*1926 – Gino Marchetti, American football player (died 2019)
*1928 – Dan Rostenkowski, American politician (died 2010)
*1929 – Charles Beaumont, screenwriter and American author of speculative fiction (died 1967)
* 1929 – Tellervo Koivisto, Finnish politician, former First Lady of Finland
*1931 – Toshiki Kaifu, Japanese lawyer and politician, 76th Prime Minister of Japan (died 2022)
*1934 – John Hollowbread, English footballer, goalkeeper (died 2007)
*1936 – Roger Miller, American singer-songwriter, musician, and actor (died 1992)
*1938 – David Bailey, English photographer and painter
* 1938 – Lynn Conway, American computer scientist and electrical engineer (died 2024)
* 1938 – Robert Smithson, American sculptor and photographer (died 1973)
*1940 – Jim Bakker, American televangelist
* 1940 – Saud bin Faisal bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, Saudi Arabian economist and politician, Saudi Arabian Minister of Foreign Affairs (died 2015)
*1942 – Thomas Hammarberg, Swedish lawyer and diplomat
* 1942 – Dennis Hastert, American educator and politician, 59th Speaker of the United States House of Representatives
*1943 – Janet Akyüz Mattei, Turkish-American astronomer (died 2004)
*1944 – Charlie Davis, Trinidadian cricketer
* 1944 – Péter Eötvös, Hungarian composer and conductor (died 2024)
* 1944 – Norodom Ranariddh, Cambodian field marshal and politician, 1st Prime Minister of Cambodia (died 2021)
* 1944 – Mohamed Ali Yusuf, Somali politician (died 2024)
*1947 – Jack Hanna, American zoologist and author
* 1947 – Calvin Hill, American football player
* 1947 – David Shapiro, American poet, historian, and critic (died 2024)
*1948 – Judith Miller, American journalist
* 1948 – Deborah Watling, English actress (died 2017)
*1949 – Christopher Durang, American playwright and screenwriter (died 2024)
* 1949 – Iris Marion Young, American political scientist and academic (died 2006)
*1952 – Indulis Emsis, Latvian biologist and politician, 9th Prime Minister of Latvia
* 1952 – Wendy Phillips, American actress
*1954 – Henry Bonilla, American broadcaster and politician
* 1954 – Évelyne Trouillot, Haitian playwright and author
*1961 – Gabrielle Carteris, American actress
* 1961 – Paula Hamilton, English model
* 1961 – Todd Haynes, American film director, screenwriter, and producer
* 1961 – Craig James, American football player and sportscaster
* 1961 – Robert Wexler, American lawyer and politician
*1963 – David Cone, American baseball player and sportscaster
* 1963 – Edgar Martínez, American baseball player
*1964 – Chris Welp, German-American basketball player (died 2015)
* 1964 – Pernell Whitaker, American boxer (died 2019)
*1967 – Francois Pienaar, South African rugby player
* 1967 – Tia Carrere, American actress
* 1967 – Jón Gnarr, Icelandic actor and politician; 20th Mayor of Reykjavík
*1968 – Cuba Gooding, Jr., American actor and producer
* 1968 – Anky van Grunsven, Dutch dressage champion
*1969 – István Bagyula, Hungarian pole vaulter
* 1969 – William Fox-Pitt, English horse rider and journalist
* 1969 – Róbert Švehla, Slovak ice hockey player
* 1969 – Christy Turlington, American model
*1970 – Eric Whitacre, American composer and conductor
*1971 – Taye Diggs, American actor and singer
* 1971 – Renée Elise Goldsberry, American actress
*1972 – Rodney MacDonald, Canadian educator and politician, 26th Premier of Nova Scotia
* 1972 – Shiraz Minwalla, Indian theoretical physicist and string theorist
* 1972 – Mattias Norström, Swedish ice hockey player and manager
*1974 – Ludmila Formanová, Czech runner
* 1974 – Juha Lind, Finnish ice hockey player
* 1974 – Tomáš Řepka, Czech footballer
*1975 – Dax Shepard, American actor
* 1975 – Jeff Suppan, American baseball player
* 1975 – Reuben Thorne, New Zealand rugby player
*1976 – Paz Vega, Spanish actress
*1977 – Brian Boucher, American ice hockey player and sportscaster
* 1977 – Stefan Koubek, Austrian tennis player
*1979 – Jonathan Greening, English footballer
*1980 – David Gyasi, British actor
*1981 – Kirk Hinrich, American basketball player
* 1981 – Maxi Rodríguez, Argentine footballer
*1983 – Kate Bosworth, American actress
* 1983 – Anthony Carrigan, American actor
*1987 – Shelley Hennig, American actress and model
* 1987 – Robert Milsom, English footballer
* 1987 – Loïc Rémy, French footballer
*1988 – Germán Cano, Argentine footballer
* 1988 – Luke Harangody, American basketball player
* 1988 – Damien Tussac, French-German rugby player
*1991 – Ben Hardy, English actor
*1992 – Paulo Gazzaniga, Argentine footballer
* 1992 – Alexey Marchenko, Russian ice hockey player
* 1992 – Teemu Pulkkinen, Finnish ice hockey player
* 1992 – Korbin Sims, Australian-Fijian rugby league player
*1993 – Bryson Tiller, American singer and rapper
*1994 – Ronald Darby, American football player
*1996 – Jonah Bolden, Australian-American basketball player
*1997 – Carlos Soler, Spanish footballer
*1998 – Tfue, American online streamer
* 1998 – Timothy Fosu-Mensah, Dutch footballer
*1999 – Georgios Kalaitzakis, Greek basketball player
* 1999 – Fernando Tatís Jr., Dominican baseball player
*2000 – Spencer Arrighetti, American baseball player
*2001 – Cole Caufield, American ice hockey player
* 2001 – Luiz Henrique, Brazilian footballer
*2006 – Claudio Echeverri, Argentine footballer

Deaths

Pre-1600

* 951 – Liu Chengyou, Emperor Yin of the Later Han (born 931)''Old History of the Five Dynasties'
ch. 103.
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* 951 – Su Fengji, Chinese official and chancellor
*1096 – William de St-Calais, Bishop of Durham and chief counsellor of William II of England
* 1169 – Bertrand de Blanchefort, sixth Grand Master of the Knights Templar (born c. 1109)
* 1184 – Theodora Komnene, Duchess of Austria, daughter of Andronikos Komnenos
*1298 – Lodomer, Hungarian prelate, Archbishop of Esztergom
* 1470 – Heinrich Reuß von Plauen, Grand Master of the Teutonic Order
*1512 – Svante Nilsson, Sweden politician (born 1460)
*1514 – William Smyth, English bishop and academic (born 1460)
* 1543 – Francesco Canova da Milano, Italian composer (born 1497)
*1557 – Pontormo, Italian painter and educator (born 1494)
*1598 – Morris Kyffin, Welsh soldier and writer (born c.1555)

1601–1900

*1613 – Salima Sultan Begum, Empress of the Mughal Empire (born 1539)
*1614 – Luisa Carvajal y Mendoza, Spanish mystical poet and Catholic martyr (born 1566)
*1726 – Domenico Zipoli, Italian organist and composer (born 1688)
* 1763 – John Carteret, 2nd Earl Granville, English statesman (born 1690)
*1850 – Manuel de la Peña y Peña, Mexican lawyer and 20th President (1847) (born 1789)
*1861 – Frederick William IV of Prussia (born 1795)
*1892 – George Biddell Airy, English mathematician and astronomer (born 1801)

1901–present

*1904 – James Longstreet, American general and diplomat (born 1821)
*1913 – Léon Teisserenc de Bort, French meteorologist (born 1855)
*1915 – Karl Goldmark, Hungarian violinist and composer (born 1830)
*1917 – Léon Flameng, French cyclist (born 1877)
*1920 – Paul Adam, French author (born 1862)
*1924 – Sabine Baring-Gould, English author and scholar (born 1834)
*1939 – Roman Dmowski, Polish politician, Polish Minister of Foreign Affairs (born 1864)
*1941 – Mischa Levitzki, Russian-American pianist and composer (born 1898)
*1946 – Joe Darling, Australian cricketer and politician (born 1870)
*1950 – James Dooley, Irish-Australian politician, 21st Premier of New South Wales (born 1877)
*1951 – William Campion, English colonel and politician, 21st Governor of Western Australia (born 1870)
* 1951 – Edith New, English militant suffragette (born 1877)
*1953 – Guccio Gucci, Italian businessman and fashion designer, founder of Gucci (born 1881)
*1960 – Paul Sauvé, Canadian lawyer and politician, 17th Premier of Quebec (born 1907)
*1963 – Dick Powell, American actor, singer, and director (born 1904)
* 1963 – Jack Carson, Canadian-American actor (born 1910)
*1974 – Tex Ritter, American actor (born 1905)
*1975 – Siraj Sikder, Bangladesh revolutionary leader (born 1944)
*1977 – Erroll Garner, American pianist and composer (born 1921)
*1986 – Una Merkel, American actress (born 1903)
*1987 – Harekrushna Mahatab, Indian journalist and politician, 1st Chief Minister of Odisha (born 1899)
*1989 – Safdar Hashmi, Indian actor, director, and playwright (born 1954)
*1990 – Alan Hale Jr., American film and television actor (born 1921)
* 1990 – Evangelos Averoff, Greek historian and politician, Greek Minister for National Defence (born 1910)
*1994 – Dixy Lee Ray, American biologist and politician; 17th Governor of Washington (born 1914)
* 1994 – Pierre-Paul Schweitzer, French lawyer and businessman (born 1915)
*1995 – Nancy Kelly, American actress (born 1921)
* 1995 – Siad Barre, Somalian general and politician; 3rd President of Somalia (born 1919)
*1999 – Rolf Liebermann, Swiss-French composer and manager (born 1910)
* 1999 – Sebastian Haffner, German journalist and author (born 1907)
* 1999 – Aaron Wiggins, American professional basketball player
*2000 – Elmo Zumwalt, American admiral (born 1920)
* 2000 – Patrick O'Brian, English author and translator (born 1914)
*2001 – William P. Rogers, American lieutenant, lawyer, and politician, 55th United States Secretary of State (born 1913)
*2005 – Maclyn McCarty, American geneticist and physician (born 1911)
*2006 – Cecilia Muñoz-Palma, Filipino lawyer and jurist (born 1913)
* 2006 – Osa Massen, Danish-American actress (born 1914)
*2007 – A. Richard Newton, Australian-American engineer and academic (born 1951)
* 2007 – Elizabeth Fox-Genovese, American historian and author (born 1941)
* 2007 – Teddy Kollek, Hungarian-Israeli politician, Mayor of Jerusalem (born 1911)
*2008 – George MacDonald Fraser, Scottish journalist and author (born 1925)
* 2008 – Lee S. Dreyfus, American politician, Governor of Wisconsin (born 1926)
*2009 – Inger Christensen, Danish poet and author (born 1935)
*2010 – David R. Ross, Scottish historian and author (born 1958)
*2011 – Anne Francis, American actress (born 1930)
* 2011 – Bali Ram Bhagat, Indian politician; 16th Governor of Rajasthan (born 1922)
* 2011 – Pete Postlethwaite, English actor (born 1946)
*2012 – Gordon Hirabayashi, American-Canadian sociologist and academic (born 1918)
* 2012 – Silvana Gallardo, American actress and producer (born 1953)
* 2012 – William P. Carey, American businessman and philanthropist, founded W. P. Carey (born 1930)
*2013 – Gerda Lerner, Austrian-American historian, author, and academic (born 1920)
* 2013 – Teresa Torańska, Polish journalist and author (born 1944)
*2014 – Bernard Glasser, American director and producer (born 1924)
* 2014 – Elizabeth Jane Howard, English author and screenwriter (born 1923)
*2015 – Tihomir Novakov, Serbian-American physicist and academic (born 1929)
*2016 – Ardhendu Bhushan Bardhan, Indian lawyer and politician (born 1924)
* 2016 – Frances Cress Welsing, American psychiatrist and author (born 1935)
* 2016 – Nimr al-Nimr, Saudi Arabian religious leader (born 1959)
* 2016 – Gisela Mota Ocampo, mayor of Temixco, Morelos, Mexico, assassinated (born 1982)
*2017 – Jean Vuarnet, French ski racer (born 1933)
* 2017 – John Berger, English art critic, novelist and painter (born 1926)
*2018 – Guida Maria, Portuguese actress (born 1950)
* 2018 – Thomas S. Monson, American religious leader, 16th president of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (born 1927)
*2019 – Daryl Dragon, American musician (born 1942)
* 2019 – Bob Einstein, American actor and comedian (born 1942)
* 2019 – Gene Okerlund, American wrestling announcer (born 1942)
* 2025 – Ágnes Keleti, Hungarian Olympic gymnast (born 1921)

Holidays and observances

* Ancestry Day (Haiti)
* Berchtold's Day (Switzerland)
*Christian feast day:
**Basil the Great (Catholic Church and Church of England)
**Gregory of Nazianzus (Catholic Church)
**Macarius of Alexandria
**Seraphim of Sarov (Eastern Orthodox Church)
**Vedanayagam Samuel Azariah ( Episcopal Church)
** January 2 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
*The Day after New Years Day is a Public Holiday in New Zealand
* Kaapse Klopse (Cape Town, South Africa)
*The first day of Blacks and Whites' Carnival, celebrated until January 7 (Colombia)
*The ninth of the Twelve Days of Christmas (Western Christianity)
* The Second of January is a Public and bank holidays in Scotland, Bank Holiday in Scotland

References

External links

BBC: On This Day
*

Historical Events on January 2

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Days of January